In Brief
Let’s focus on the post facelift Laura here, one that came in 2009 as owning and maintaining a car older than six years isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. The Laura was one of the few solidly built cars around the time that was a notch under the German executive sedans. It got popular with up and coming customers but has developed a reputation for being a high maintenance car. It came with a popular 2.0-litre TDI engine producing about 140PS of power and a quick 1.8-TSI petrol engine with 160PS output. It was built like a tank and in ways, feels even tougher than the current generation Octavia, which is the Laura’s successor.
On the road
The Laura is a driver’s delight, in both the petrol and diesel, more so the former. And that’s due to its strong engines, excellent driving dynamics, good ride and that tank like build. You enjoy driving the Laura harder than usual and its mile munching ability (the diesel going by its economics) makes for some very high mileage cars on the market. Skoda also had a detuned 110PS diesel mated to a manual gearbox in addition to the 140PS with its DSG 6-speed unit.
Moving in
You feel that sense of security as speeds build in the Laura and that’s mainly due to the insulated cabin. Sure the car has a fantastic chassis and suspension set up but it’s that sense of disconnect from the environment that makes the interior of the Laura a good place to be in, for a car of this price. The L&K and Elegance are well specified with leather upholstery and the former and vRS variants of the Laura also get a 6.5-inch TFT display. The large 560-litre boot is handy too for a getaway with a full set of passengers.
Efficiency
The TSI petrol is a thirsty giant giving an ARAI certified mileage in the range of 13.4-14.6kmpl across all petrol variants and the diesel ranges between 18.3-20kmpl. In the real world expect about 4kmpl drop in actual figures.
Buying used
Till about a year ago, you’d have to be a wily customer to maintain and run a Skoda, with even authorized workshops earning a reputation of posting exorbitant bills for minor works. And it went to an extent to where the Skoda brand took a major hit. Now Skoda is rebuilding that lost reputation by focusing on repairing over replacing and getting service costs in check and that makes owning a used Laura a better proposition now than before. That said, spares and running costs are comparatively expensive to a car of other makes of this price so check a car well before you sign the dotted line.
Firstly, check for a smooth shifting gearbox in the manuals and a heavy clutch. In the automatics, run through the gears while giving the car a bit more gas as usual to check for gear shifts with jerk and delay. The clutch plate on a Laura is expensive to replace so these checks are important. Brakes again need to be in top shape so check for stopping power and progressive feel as you step on the brakes. The air conditioning system for cooling related issues should be tested as the compressor is expensive. Finally all electrical switches like power windows should be checked. All this comes after going through the car’s service history though. The Laura is a car a lot of owners preferred to service outside the authorized service network so get a proper read through the car’s history.
Money-wise
The Laura is a car that depreciates heavily, especially the petrol variants. A top of the line diesel Laura from 2009 has lost value considerably and will come in the range of Rs 7.5-8 lakh while mid spec versions will cost between Rs 6.5-7 lakh. Add about 1-1.2 lakh more for every year younger car. This is just a range though as you will find different prices based on mileage, variants and quality.
The petrol vRS variants have dropped to as low as Rs 7-8 lakh for a 2011 variant. It’s one good performance sedan to buy instead of say a new Honda Amaze. Running costs though will be quite high.
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